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Oklahoma football: Sooners' Lane Johnson decides not to work out for NFL scouts

OU FOOTBALL — Oklahoma offensive lineman Lane Johnson has skyrocketed up NFL Draft boards lately. Johnson wowed scouts and coaches during the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine, but he decided to not go through drills at OU's Pro Day.

Despite the initial urge to put on another full-fledged show for NFL scouts Wednesday, Johnson chose the prudent course. After all, his impressive 4.72 40-yard dash time at last month's NFL Scouting Combine didn't leave much room for improvement.

Johnson and 24 other former Sooners tested for scouts at Oklahoma's annual Pro Day. With a little more than a month to go before the NFL Draft, about all Johnson can do now is interview with teams and wait.

He said he's flying Thursday to interview with the Carolina Panthers, who hold the draft's 14th pick.

“I got everything accomplished that I wanted to,” Johnson said. “Now, it's just interviews with teams. Everything is taking place how I wanted it to. It's kind of crazy, the whole process.”

ESPN.com's Mel Kiper Jr. released his latest first-round mock draft this week, and pegged Johnson going No. 11 to the San Diego Chargers.

“He deserves it,” said former OU quarterback Landry Jones, who also worked out Wednesday. “He ran one of the fastest 40s and is crazy, crazy athletic.”

Johnson has proved his athleticism beyond any reasonable doubt, but NFL executives still have questions regarding the length of time he's played offensive tackle, and other strange inquiries Johnson admitted threw him off a tad.

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by Jason Kersey

OU Sports Reporter

Jason Kersey became The Oklahoman's OU football beat writer in May 2012 after a year covering high school sports and OSU recruiting. Before joining the newspaper in November 2006 as a part-time results clerk, he covered high school football for...